The present invention relates to monitoring structural health of an object, such as an aircraft or other vehicle, and more particularly to a structural health monitoring (SHM) transducer assembly and system that may utilize the SHM transducer assembly.
New, lightweight composite materials, traditional metallic materials, and other materials are being used and optimized in designs more extensively in the aerospace industry for commercial aircraft and other aerospace vehicles, as well as in civil infrastructure, ground transportation, and other industries. The new materials and new designs may be subject to extreme stresses or potential damage from an impact or other cause. For example near a fuselage cargo door surround of a commercial aircraft, baggage handlers often inadvertently collide with and cause impact damage to the airplane fuselage. Any such damage needs to be quickly and efficiently identified, located, and the size and extend determined so that any needed repairs can be performed and to reduce airplane maintenance costs and eliminate airplane cancellation and delays. To implement quick non-destructive evaluations that may be performed quickly to ensure minimal maintenance times, numerous transducers are required. To add such a new inspection system to an airplane or other structure with harsh in-service environments and cost competitiveness, the transducers must be low cost, be able to survive in harsh environments, and perform well over time.